Spain after the floods: rage against the state
Residents of Paiporta, one of the municipalities hit hardest by the recent flash floods, hurled mud and insults at King Felipe VI of Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mazón, President of the Valencian Regional Government, while they were inspecting the damage in the area. The visit was cut short as a result of the chaos. The king later expressed understanding for the anger and disappointment.
The pain is being exploited
El País sees a disruptive strategy at work:
“The indignation is understandable. ... But that it was translated into violence fomented by those who take advantage of the pain of others to fuel a populist strategy against our constitutional state is not understandable. ... We must ask ourselves whether the visit [by the state representatives] was a good decision. But if they had stayed away from the ground zero of the tragedy, they would have been criticised for that too in an area where – after the regional government failed to warn of the imminent danger – the people have been feeling the helplessness of the authorities for almost a week now. ... Only the state can guarantee a complete return to normality. ... And efficiency is the best advertisement for democracy. ... But it won't be enough if the hate speech is not stopped.”
Mud-slinging understandable
Gazeta Wyborcza sympathises with the anger of those affected:
“The protests in Paiporta took the royal delegation, which had to be shielded from the mud by security guards using umbrellas, by surprise. ... The situation in Paiporta is desperate. These were the words of Mayor Maribel Albalat herself. In addition to all the destruction and the mud-covered streets, the residents are struggling with the fact that some parts of the town are still cut off. So these extreme emotions at the epicentre of the disaster are hardly surprising.”
A monarch denuded
This will change Spain, La Repubblica believes:
“The king, always an emotional symbol of power in Spain, is naked and covered in mud. ... In the inferno he discovers that authority itself is the target of the rage that has been consuming the survivors of the storm of the century for five days. Those submerged in the mud respond with mud. ... It is a scene that will go down in the history of this country, which will soon have to take its institutions to task. Not even Prime Minister Sánchez will be spared. Against him too, walking just a few steps to the right of Felipe, the people hurled the same mud, the same accusations, the same demand to resign.”
Help was there for the people
Columnist Antón Losada denounces the attacks in Eldiario.es:
“It's no longer a question of my government doing everything right and your government doing everything wrong. ... Spain is facing the greatest tragedy it has experienced in decades. ... The industry of fake news and hatred may continue operating, but sooner or later it too will have mud thrown at it. The right-wing press is now blaming Pedro Sánchez for the disaster. ... Yet the state was there from the very first night, the fire brigade is the state, the police are the state, all the public sector workers who were exhausted after the pandemic and are now saving lives again. ... Listen to them because they are the ones who know what must be done.”